Maybe it was the Brian Kelly hangover. Or maybe Cincinnati's miserable outing had nothing to do with the departure of its head coach to Notre Dame just weeks before the Bearcats' appearance in Friday's Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Scott Threlkeld/The Times-PicayuneCincinnati quarterback Tony Pike is sacked by a host of Florida defenders. Sacked four times, Pike said Florida was 'the best defense that I've ever seen.'
Maybe Cincinnati was just out-matched. It turns out that the self-proclaimed most defining moment in Bearcats history shriveled into a humbling 51-24 loss. In Big Easy terms, Cincinnati (12-1) became a voodoo doll Friday in the Superdome, and Florida spent the night inserting debilitating pins.

Instead of proving to the nation that a regular-season undefeated stepchild deserved to be in the BCS title game, Cincinnati reinforced the notion a team outside a major football conference can't compete with the big dogs. And not all of it can be attributed to Mr. Tebow. Florida's secondary played bullet-proof -- seemingly never out of position against the Bearcats' offense, which entered the game leading the nation in passing efficiency (166.19) and churning out 328.66 passing yards a game (3,844 total passing yards).

"They are the best defense that I've ever seen, " Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike said. "Both on film and on the field. It showed a lot of speed and just athletes everywhere."

Pike had thrown 11 touchdown passes in the past three games, but the end zone might as well have been in Ohio in the first half Friday. Pike's receivers couldn't come up with the big receptions, and his passes sailed on the high side during much of the second half. He completed 11 of 18 passes for 60 yards in the first half and was sacked four times for 24 yards in losses. It was his and the team's worst first half of the season.

Cincinnati has never failed scored a first half touchdown this season and went to halftime on Friday trailing 30-3. The Bearcats were lucky to not be shutout in the first half. Jacob Rogers' 47-yard field goal avoided the zero. Pike finally broke the touchdown drought by passing to backup linebacker Marcus Waugh for a 2-yard touchdown with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter.

It was Waugh's first career touchdown. But as Pike walked off the turf Friday with 27-of-45 passing for 170 yards and three touchdowns, he couldn't be all bummed out.

"It's a bittersweet feeling, " Pike said. "You absolutely hate it, and you feel horrible inside, but at the same time, the level that Cincinnati is at right now compared to a few years ago when I got here is amazing, and I wouldn't trade any of this for the world."

Sugar high: Florida became the first team in BCS history to win 13 games in consecutive seasons. And the Gators' began with a bang. Their 23 consecutive first-half points to open play was their third-biggest run in a bowl game, trailing only the 28 versus Florida State in the 1997 Sugar Bowl and 27 versus West Virginia in the 1994 Sugar Bowl.

Demps in the dumps: Gators sophomore running back Jeff Demps' evening ended early. He dislocated his left elbow in the first half and did not return. He rushed three times for 10 yards in the first quarter. Carl Johnson had a right shoulder injury.

Rolling stone: Florida center Maurkice Pouncey spent more than five hours in a local hospital Friday before kickoff because of kidney stones, the team announced. Pouncey received four bags of intravenous liquids and was cleared by the team urologist. The urologist was not in New Orleans; he reviewed the CT scans from Florida and cleared Pouncey remotely.

Terrific Tebow: Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow spent the evening at the Superdome performing victory laps on his college career by amassing oodles of yards and several records, both personal and Sugar Bowl marks.

He began the game by going 7-of-7 for 61 yards on the Gators' first drive and capped it with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez. Tebow finished the first quarter 10-of-10 for 124 yards. He went 12-of-12 before missing a receiver, and that established a Sugar Bowl record.

The previous best came on a 9-of-9 opening in the 1969 Sugar Bowl. Tebow was 20-of-23 in the first half for a season-high 320 yards -- 18 shy of his career best of 338 yards set against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 17, 2007. Well, Tebow reached his career high by the time most fans found their seats to start the second half.

Tebow finished with 31-of-35 passing for a personal best and Sugar Bowl high of 482 yards. He threw three touchdown passes. In terms of Sugar Bowl records, Tebow tied Rohan Davey for the pass-completion record, surpassed Davey's 427 total yards (Tebow had 533) and also broke Davey's passing yards record of 444.

Riling the ranks: Florida senior Riley Cooper hauled in an 80-yard touchdown pass from Tebow with 3:02 left in the second quarter for his team-leading ninth touchdown catch of the season. It was the longest pass play by Florida since Chad Jackson caught an 80-yard pass from Chris Leak against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 10, 2005.

It was the second-longest pass play in the BCS Bowl history. Florida's Danny Wuerffel, who was in attendance Friday, connected on an 82-yard touchdown pass to Ike Hilliard in the 1995 Sugar Bowl. But the output was old hat for Cooper.

He had three catches for 107 yards in the first half, his third time this season over 100 yards receiving (Charleston Southern, South Carolina, Cincinnati) and the fourth time in his career over the century mark.

The take-away: Participants in the game made out handsomely in the Allstate Sugar Bowl gift bag department. Not only did they get to visit the Garmin and Weber gift suite -- imagine a room with tables displaying various goodies, and players walk in with empty bags only to fill them with whatever they select. In addition to the electronics, participants received Timely Watch Co. watches, a New Era cap, an Ogio Fugitive laptop pack and a Lane recliner. How's that going to fit on the plane home?

Preaching it: Tebow's eye black verse came from Ephesians 2, verses 8-10: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."